Braised Pork Belly with Knotted Tofu Sheets (4⭐)

My child likes this kind of thin tofu sheet. I bought only two large sheets, which need to be trimmed and tied into knots.

Cut into small individual pieces.

Tie the tofu sheets into knots.

Put eggs in cold water and boil on medium-low heat for 20 minutes to make hard-boiled eggs.

Once boiled, place the eggs in cold water to make peeling the shells easier.

Peel the eggshells. Then, make four vertical cuts on each egg to allow flavors to seep in during cooking.

Make vertical cuts on the eggs. I made four cuts per egg in opposite directions. (Don't cut too long; slightly deeper cuts are fine to avoid the eggs breaking apart.)

Prepare the ingredients: star anise, cinnamon stick, green onion (cut into sections), and ginger (sliced).

Freeze the pork belly for 30-60 minutes before cutting—it makes the slicing easier. If not frozen, the meat will be too soft and hard to cut.

Cut the pork belly into small pieces.

Wash the pork belly thoroughly.

Heat the pan first, then add oil (hot pan, cold oil). Add ginger slices, star anise, green onion segments, and cinnamon stick to the pan and stir-fry until fragrant.

Add pork belly and stir-fry over low heat until it changes color.

Add salt, cooking wine, dark soy sauce, and sugar.

I switched to a different pot because the wok was needed for another dish. Add warm water to the pot, immersing the meat. Bring to a boil over high heat, then simmer over low heat for 40 minutes.

Soak the tofu knots in boiling water for 5-10 minutes and then clean them. My mother-in-law said doing this helps the tofu knots absorb flavors better during cooking.

Add the tofu knots and boiled eggs to the pot and continue to simmer for another 30 minutes.

Toward the end, I noticed the liquid was drying up, so I added some more water to prevent burning.

Done.